Wavy Line Trace

In short

Wavy Line Trace is a calm table activity with a printed sheet and your child's own index finger. It suits preschoolers who get distracted easily or need a moment to settle before learning. In just a few minutes, your child practices following a line with the eyes, sticking with one task and reaching across the middle of the body.

What you need

• Printouttemplate on A4
• One fingernothing else

How to play

1. 1Put the sheet in front of your child.

When it fits

• After daycare or school, when your child is still wound up and needs to settle down first.
• Right before homework or story time, as a small step over to the table.
• In a waiting room or a cafe, since all you need is the sheet.

What your child practices

• Eye tracking
• Focus
• Crossing the midline

Following a line with the eyes without losing track is something kids need later when reading from line to line and copying from the board. Occupational therapists also often pay attention to reaching across the middle of the body during table play. Wavy Line Trace turns this into a short task without a pencil, so there is nothing to erase.

Works well before or after

Before, the Cross Crawl March wakes your child up after wild play. Afterward, Shape Breathing makes a calm finish before homework starts.

Printable templates

All 2 sheets for this exercise are in the printable pack.

Further reading

• Pre-writing activities: from big arm moves to the pencil
• Attention span by age: how long can a child focus?

Similar exercises

• Tap the ColorYou call a color, your child taps it with the matching hand.age 4+ · 3-4 min
• Simon SaysOnly join in when the sentence starts with “Simon says”.age 4+ · 3-5 min
• Roll and CircleRoll the die, then find and circle exactly that many dots.age 5+ · 5-8 min